In a bid to boost tourism Spain relaxed its Covid restrictions to British travellers, those entering the country will no longer have to quarantine or take a Covid test. However, Spain is still on the UK’s amber list so what does this mean for British holiday makers?
All travellers to Spain from the UK will no longer need to quarantine or take a Covid test, but they will be required to complete a pre-declaration travel form upon arrival.
Despite travel restrictions being eased in Spain, if you travel to the country you will have to self-isolate at home for 10 days and take two Covid tests on days two and day eight after arriving back in the UK.
While it is no longer illegal to travel to Spain, the UK government has warned against visiting amber destinations for non-essential trips.
The ‘traffic light’ travel system set out by the government ranks countries either green, amber or red depending on how safe they are to visit.
This is based on the number of Covid cases in the population and success of a countries’ vaccination program.
Non-essential trips, such as holidays, can only be taken to the limited number of countries on the green list, such as Portugal, Gibraltar and Iceland.
Those holiday makers hoping to jet off to Spain might have to wait a little longer as essential trips only cover work, family or compassionate journeys.
Despite official warnings against travelling to amber list countries, up to 100,000 Brits are expected to travel to Spain this week.
Boris Johnson has urged the public to avoid unnecessary trips abroad.
He said: “I think it’s very important for people to grasp what an amber list country is: it is not somewhere where you should be going on holiday, let me be very clear about that.
“And if people do go to an amber list country, they absolutely have to for some pressing family or urgent business reason, then please bear in mind that you will have to self-isolate, you’ll have to take tests and do your passenger locator form and all the rest of it.”
Many sun-starved Brits will be keen to jet off to Spain. Over 18 million Brits visited the country in 2019 making it the UK’s most popular holiday destination.
There may still be hope for a holiday in the sun as the traffic light system is reviewed every three weeks.
As long as Covid cases continue to fall in Spain it could be put on the green list in the coming weeks or months meaning that holidays to the land of Sun, Sea and Sangria will be allowed once more.
However, this review also works in reverse, and countries could be switched from green to amber or even put on the red list if Covid cases spike.
Be sure to check before your travel as those who do not follow travel restrictions could face fines of up to £10,000.
If you are in need of a well-deserved break the options are limited.
12 countries such as Portugal and Gibraltar have made it onto the green list
Brits returning from a green list will not need to self-isolate and will only need to take one Covid test two days after returning to the UK.
